October 25, 2017 - New York City
"Rachel, there's a phone call for you," her assistant said between practicing scenes. She'd signed onto a reprise of The Blue Paradise as Mizzi. It was different, difficult, not having a lot of stage time. But it was something to keep her busy, and she'd had a tendency to agree to as much as possible to keep her busy. Especially after Funny Girl. As much as she loved the big name parts, she enjoyed getting to step out of it for a while.
"Can you tell them to call back?" she replied, continuing to read over her lines.
"It's urgent." Rachel didn't know what to think when she answered the phone.
October 25, 2017 - Germany
Finn opened his eyes, seeing white all around him. Was he in heaven? It sure felt like it, not feeling any pain, the room almost silent. That was until he started to pay attention, eyes coming into focus to see a tiled ceiling. That was also when the pain started to set in as well as several very uncomfortable feelings.
First, he really couldn't feel his left foot. He couldn't move it either. Second, it felt like something was shoved up his nose and all he wanted to do was pull it out. But he was just so tired, eyes closing again.
When he woke again, it wasn't as bright. He turned his head, looking out of the window to see that it was dark outside. When was the last time he'd seen the moon and the stars? It had been forever, since he was with Antonio talking about Rachel before they got in the humvee. And that was when it all came back. The IED, the screaming, the gunfire. Antonio lying motionless on the ground as Finn packed his wounds.
"Glad to see you're finally awake," he heard someone say. He turned his head to look the other way, seeing a man about Will's age. He blinked a couple of times, trying to find his words.
"Where am I?" he asked. He felt safe, so he wasn't worried about who the man was. Plus, he spoke English. That was a benefit.
"Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany. You're one lucky person, Private Hudson," he said, walking further into the room, taking a seat in a chair next to the hospital bed. "I'm Doctor Grant with the US Military. Tell me, Finn, what do you remember?"
"We were out on a recon mission. A different group had something go wrong. They wouldn't tell us what. I lost track of the days, wherever I was. It was…" He couldn't figure out the best way to describe it. It was hell on earth, a nightmare.
"Torture is what it was, Finn. You were in there for over four years." Finn's heart was racing, panic setting in when he heard that. Four years? Yes, it had felt like an eternity, but it couldn't have been four years. He'd promised Rachel he'd be back, like it was college. He'd promised his mom. Oh, god. His mom must have been so worried.
Sitting up, he tried to pull the IVs out, needing to get out. It felt like the room was getting smaller. He could tell the doctor was trying to tell him something, but he couldn't tell. He just needed to get out. Telling Grant that. The next thing he knew, he was getting drowsy, eyes closing again.